Developer says Coal Creek wetland project would be ‘great opportunity’ for city

By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com

If you ask Bob Russell, a long vacant piece of land has the potential to serve as a catalyst to move Chehalis forward.

“This is something that is right in the middle of the city,” Russell said in an interview with The Chronicle. “We’re going to stake an environmental and a beautification claim at the same time we’re staking a growth and a development claim.”

What he eyes is an ecotourism hub on roughly 80 acres of wetlands that would spark ecotourism in Lewis County while aiding the coho and steelhead salmon that call the creek home. To further gauge community interest, Russell hosted a Jan. 29 community meeting to discuss the project at the Twin Cities Senior Center.

“With community support and involvement, this area can be transformed to provide a healthy corridor for salmon through productive farmland, while holding back flood waters and creating an attractive public space,” the draft vision for the project reads.

According to Russell, the project would have several benefits, including improved flood storage, improved aesthetics, added wildlife viewing, stormwater improvement and recreational access.

In December, Russell made a similar pitch to the Chehalis City Council. The City of Chehalis owns 66 acres of land at the project, with Russell proposing the acquisition of an additional 15 acres.

“That is all class one wetland out there. There is no way you’re doing anything, with anything in that box, to build anything on it,” Russell said of the property.

According to Russell, the project could take 10 years or more to complete, and he is eyeing grant money through the Office of the Chehalis Basin and other agencies to fund the project.

“Nothing’s been decided. This is a 35,000-foot informational overview,” Russell said.

After completion, the land would continue to be owned by the City of Chehalis.

There’s not yet a draft proposal, though Russell eyes a similar project in Auburn as inspiration. In 2012, the city opened a 120-acre “environmental park” complete with a boardwalk. Russell said the proposal in Chehalis could result in a boom of ecotourism for the city, similar to one in Auburn.

“It was an old, straight channel that’s surrounded by a kind of light industrial area, kind of close to some highways,” Kirsten Harma, Chehalis Lead Entity coordinator, said of the Auburn project. “But they transformed that area into an environmental park.”

According to Russell, businesses and organizations in the area have expressed initial interest in the project. As development continues in Lewis County, particularly on higher elevation lands, Russell said the proposal would help “change the narrative” of the area.

“The educational narrative, the fact that wetlands are important, that creeks are important,” Russell said. “So I think it’s a great opportunity, and one of the ideas that I really like it, it’s in the middle of the city.”

Russell said the next steps for the project would be a formal proposal, which would include rough estimates of the associated costs. The project would then be presented to the Chehalis City Council during a future meeting.